I can’t remember who came up with this word, but somewhere along the way Travis Cottrell and any other (generally invisible) male blog readers acquired the name “miesta.” It is, of course, the male answer to “siesta.”
I want you all to know about a very special miesta who was used by God to bring Christian women all over this nation and even across the world together for Bible study. His name is Lee Sizemore and, to say it simply, he was the visionary and the video producer for the first 10 Bible study series my mom got to film. Had health concerns not necessitated early retirement, he would have also produced the three that followed. From A Woman’s Heart to The Patriarchs(ten years later, and dedicated to him), Lee worked tirelessly to produce discipleship materials for women like us. He also produced video-driven Bible studies for many other teachers, among them Anne Graham Lotz, Jennifer Rothschild, and Angela Thomas. I’m sure many of them felt about Lee as Mom did. She considered him one of the dearest friends she’d ever had and one of the most significant co-laborers God, in His measureless grace, had ever sent her way.
When I was sixteen, Lee hired me to be a production assistant for the To Live is Christ series. I enjoyed getting to work behind the scenes with his team so much. Lee was always there with something encouraging or amusing to say. Throughout the years it was such a joy when the LifeWay team would come to Houston or when I had the chance to be on another film set. They were a very special group of people with an exceptional, wonderful leader.
After an almost three-year battle with severe health problems, our brother Lee Sizemore went home to be with Jesus on Saturday, March 22, 2008. The next morning, as we all celebrated the Risen Christ in our man-made church sanctuaries, Lee got to see the resurrected Lamb of God with His own eyes and worship in His visible, glorious presence. Though tears fall from my eyes even now, it blesses me to know that our dear friend had this privilege.
Lee leaves behind an adoring, faithful bride of nearly 40 years named Myrna, two sons, two daughters-in-law, four grandchildren, and a slew of friends and co-workers who all loved him very much. His absence will leave a tremendous void in their lives. Myrna’s birthday is this Wednesday and her precious husband’s funeral will be held on Thursday. I know many of you have watched the Bible study videos and will want to cover Myrna and her family in prayer during this difficult week. Thank you in advance. Myrna is a siesta, so if anyone wants to share a word of love, encouragement, or thanks, we will make sure she gets to see it.
*Lee is the one next to my mom in each of these pictures.
The Patriarchs
Living Beyond Yourself 
Breaking Free
Praying for you, dear sister in Christ that as you walk through the days ahead…
To Myrna and her family, to Beth and her family, and to others grieving this loss … my prayers are with you. May God’s comforting hand shelter your heart.
To the many lives that hace been touched by Mr. Lee Sizemore, the friends whp worked with him and his dear family, i will assuredly be lifting you up to the father this week as you face the difficult and lonely days ahead. I know I don’t have to remind you that our dear LORD hasn’t changed nor his loving heart not seen what you are going through but I just needed to let you know that you are cared for and loved. Lean on him this week just as you always have. In His Love, Carla
Myrna,
I never knew you or your husband. His work with Beth’s ministry has been a blessing in my life and the lives of many of my friends. I can’t wait to thank him face to face when we get to heaven! My prayers are with you!
Jenn Monroe, LA
Myrna,
I am thankful for your husbands hard work and dedication that made it possible for women like me to break free and draw closer to our sweet Lord. I pray that God will pour out His peace and love on you in the days to come. We almost share a birthday mine is Tuesday the 25th, you will be in my thoughts and prayers. God bless you.
Dear Mrs. Sizemore,
Thank you for sharing your husband’s gifts and talents with all of us over the years. Though I cannot imagine the grief that you are going through, I pray that the hope of Christ Jesus would be with you. I pray that your mourning would turn into dancing, that your sorrow to joy, as you embrace the truth that your husband is in the presence of His Savior. My thoughts and prayers are with you this week.
Much love and gratitude,
Tara
Myrna,
I am asking that Lord give you the grace, comfort and strength that you will need the next few days, as well as in the next few weeks and months.
I too am a widow, and have walked the path that you are now traveling. I need to tell you that the Lord has been so special and kind to me during this season of my life. He has shown me a side of Himself that I may have never known any other way. He has blessed me way beyond measure, and I know that He will do the same for you. He is all that you need. I know that one by heart!
In the days leading up to my husband’s death after a short battle with cancer, the Lord gave me verses to comfort me. During that time, and for a while after, I would write down everything that the Lord revealed through His Word. At the time He revealed it, I didn’t understand exactly what He was trying to tell me. Then I would look back at my journal a few days later, and He would help me understand. He was so sweet. The verses were so very tender. I was contantly reminded how much He loves me and cares for me… especially through death of a loved one. He will do the same for you. Depend on Him more than you ever have in your life.
Terri
Myrna,
I am sorry for your earthly loss, but how amazing to know your dear husband stood in the presence of Jesus on such a special day! Praise God!!
I pray that your family will grow closer to God in this time.
Dear Siesta Myrna,
I don’t really know what to say…scripture says things best…Praying for you and your family. Often, when I feel like my strength is very small and I don’t know how I will make it through, I think of some verses in Psalm 42. Psalm 42:4-6, 11 especially…We will journey through this with Him and…yet praise Him:) Your siestas are all here to pray for you:) Hugs and blessings
katiegfromtennessee
I know you all must miss him terribly, but I can’t think of anything greater than my first day in heaven being Easter morning. And, yet, I also know that doesn’t make the earthly hearts left behind hurt any less or feel any less empty. May the joy of the Lord that Mr. Lee now knows be the strength that uplifts his loved ones.
Myrna,
Your husband’s ministry and vision has touched so many of our lives. I will lift you and your family up in prayer. May He comfort you and give you strength.
Beth and Amanda,
I will pray for His comfort and peace for you as well as you mourn the loss of your great friend.
Your Siesta,
Kathleen
The Journey Continues!
Precious Myrna,
Lee is sitting at the feet of Jesus! Our family will keep you and yours in daily prayer as you heal and celebrate the love of Lee and his Earthly Outreach!
With “Heaven Bound” blessings,
Kim Safina
My journey in Christ would not be what it is today if not for these studies. I am married to someone who is a behind the scenes guy in ministry material too. They do it because they love to tell the story creatively. I am so sorry for your loss. Thank you for the sacrifice you put up with for your husband’s visions to become reality.
You are in my prayers.
Myrna,
Thank you for sharing your dear husband with the world. God has used him so mightily, facilitating my love for the Word and I am sure many would agree!
Please know it is a priviledge to pray for you and your family by name. I can’t imagine the pain of this loss. I will write your name on my calendar for the next year to commit you to the Father. I pray His abundant grace over you now in these fresh hours of grief. I pray for increased intimacy with Christ, that overflows to mend the loneliness that accompanies the loss of your sweet Lee.
Dear Myrna- May you find great comfort in imagining your beloved husband’s current surroundings! You will be in my prayers. I hope your children will feel the strenght of their heavenly father as they mourn the loss of their earthly father.
Myrna, I am so sorry for the loss of your husband and I will be praying. May God’s presence and peace be extremely noticeable to you over the next several months. Kim B. in AZ
Miss Myrna,
I’m so sorry for your loss…his impact on earth will last for eternity. I pray you will know the Lord’s very own presence during this time of suffering. You and your family will be in my prayers.
Love, Taylor
I remember when the photo was taken at the Patriarchs and Beth speaking of how much he meant to everyone.
Myrna,
Words fail me and I am so sorry for your loss. Even though he is in the Presence of Jesus I know that you and your family are hurting from your dear husband, father, and grandfather being gone from this earth.
I pray that the Lord will be a strong comfort and refuge to you and we thank you for allowing him to give his life to serve women like us. I am so blessed because of him.
I will certainly be covering you and your family in prayer. My heart breaks for you.
love jenny williams
pelham al
Im so sory, im praying for ALL of you!
Amanda,
Thanks for letting us know. And for your wonderful tribute.
Myrna and the Sizemore family,
Much love to all of you during this time of sorrow and celebration. Truly Lee’s work will continue to impact millions of lives!! What a testament to his faith and a living tribute.
~Cheryl
St. Louis
Sweet Myrna,
You and your husband have given so much to us. You have fed us the very Words of God. You have encouraged countless weary souls, comforted multitudes of hurting people, rescued who knows how many from death because you and your husband dedicated your lives to sharing the gospel with the world and that gospel is the power to save for all who believe.
As you have comforted so many others with the Savior’s love, we pray in one accord that the God of all Comfort would comfort you. We specifically pray for perfect peace.
Where your treaure is, your heart will be. Now that your husband is in heaven, so is EVEN MORE of your heart.
We grieve with you over your loss but we rejoice with you in the reward that awaits him for his faithful work for the Kingdom of God.
We love you and thank you.
Eyes on Him,
Kara
Myrna,
All I can say is I am sorry for your dear husband going Home. May God’s rich peace wash over you in the coming days. You will be in my prayers.
Delilah
He changed the world – one heart, one lesson, one Bible Study at a time.
Dear Myrna,
I am a life that was changed by your husband’s dedicated work. The ‘Breaking Free’ study was the catalyst that sent me onto a life with my Lord that I never knew could exist before & that continues to grow today.
My deepest thanks to Lee & to you for giving to the Lord.
“How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?” ~1st Thess. 3:9
~Blessings, Love & Prayers
Without the Bible studies that Lee so skillfully guided, I would not be the Christian that I am now. The studies I’ve done have been the very thing that took me from a spectator at church to a passionate follower of Christ. Thank you Myrna for being Lee’s support who in turn became our beacon to follow Christ. I will remember your family in my prayers.
We are so sorry for your loss. We will be praying that God’s hand of comfort and grace will rest on you these next few weeks, months, years, as you need it to get you through the moments that will flood you. I pray that he will reach down and hold you as you need him and that you will feel his presence all around you as you walk this new road he has prepared for you. Praying for you especially as you walk through this week.
Amanda-I am sorry for your loss in your friend and mentor Lee. What a comfort it is to know he has been healed and is in the presence of Jesus!! God bless.
In His Graces~Pamela
It is moments like this that remind us that what Beth does requires the labor of many others who work tirelessly behind the scenes. The work of Lee Sizemore has impacted countless lives, mine is one of those. I never knew him, but I cannot wait to get to heaven to say, “thank you” for caring about the hearts of women. My faith is greater because of the work that Lee did.
To his family and friends, may the only One who can bring peace into a time of loss do it in a huge way in the days ahead. God bless each of you with His comfort and hope.
Leah
Dear Myrna and family,
What a tribute to a life well-lived, and I’m sure you could add volumes to what Amanda said in her note. Lee must have been a tender-hearted servant of Christ, showing His love and care to all he met.
Please know that there are many (like me) who are praying for you in the days ahead. May God comfort you and give you peace as only He can give.
With His love,
Laura Imlach
May God’s peace and comfort surround you this week and in the days to come.
With love,
April
Dear Mrs. Myrna:
I am so sorry for your loss and want you to know I am praying that God will wrap His arms of love and comfort around you and your precious family in the days and weeks ahead. Thank you for being a godly wife and support to your dear husband.
I was in the audience for the taping of The Patriarchs, and was blessed beyond measure to witness the professionalism and hard work it takes to produce one of Mrs. Beth’s studies.
May God bless and keep you always,
Georgia Jan
“Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. ” Romans 15:13
Myrna,
Oh my heavens. Times like these are so difficult this side of glory, aren’t they? Inwardly we both rejoice and sob all at the same time. To know that your precious husband actually spent Easter day in the very presence of the Almighty is overwhelmingly beyond words and yet to miss him by your side and to mourn his absence can be so very painful. How I will pray for you…and how I will rejoice with you that Lee knew his Savior. You will see him again…and can you even imagine that reunion? Mercy. Until that day, keep the faith, spread the gospel, and love Jesus with all your heart.
Lisa
To Myrna and her family,
My heartfelt sorrow for you on this day to loose your dear man. I will be praying for you on both your birthday and your husband Lee’s funeral day. I remember C.S. Lewis celebrated his wife’s homegoing as “her Easter Day”. What an incredible thing to think of your husband alive and living his “real life”. To think that he is thinking of all of you and waiting for you to get home and enjoying Jesus company is a thought of joy at a time like this. We love you Myrna.
Heidi in Georgia
Myrna,
I am so thankful for your husband’s ministry. I am a changed woman because of it. May the God of all Comfort make himself abundantly known to you in the midst of your grief. How wonderful for Mr. Sizemore to be in heaven on Easter Sunday! I’ll be praying for you.
Dear Myrna,
I am so sorry to hear about your husband. I can’t imagine how it must have been for him to celebrate with the Lamb of God. He must still be in complete awe of our precious King. I pray that you are blessed on Wednesday as you celebrate your life without your husband and on Thursday when you celebrate his.
It must bless your heart to no end to know your husband had a part of such a life changing ministry. I am one of those lives. Changed forever and still hungry for more of Jesus.
I’m sure as he was a helper to Lifeway, you were his beautiful helper.
Blessed be the name of our Lord during this new life without your husband to hold…blessed be the name.
Lovingly,
Lelia
I am so sorry for the loss experienced by his family and friends. I hope they can take comfort in knowing that thousands upon thousands of lives have been impacted for the Kingdom of God through this man’s gifts and hard work. And that now, he is surely being rewarded.
I am one of those women whose lives have been impacted. Thank you for sharing this man’s time and talents with women like me. I look forward to thanking him when I get to Heaven.
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.
Although I know you rejoice in your husband’s healing and heavenly home, my heart aches for the void I know you feel here.
Please know what an impact he had on so many who never met him. It is easy to focus on those like Beth in front of the camera and forget the legions of unseen faithful saints behind the scenes who make it all happen.
May the love of friends and the peace and presence of God surround you as you walk this road.
Dear Myrna, Family, and Friends –
My prayer is that our Lord jesus Christ will surround with His love, comfort, and peace during this time of sorrow.
Much love,
Sharon, NC
Sizemore family,
Thank you for sharing your dear one so that others could come to Christ and know him more. My deepest condolences are with you. May the peace and comfort of our risen Savior be with you this week.
Mandy
It’s hard to envision that there are others that help to make the Bible studies what they are and what they have meant to all of us. We all know these good people are there, but we don’t think on them or pray over them much or at least not enough. Today, at least for me that all changes. I want to say thank you and God bless you to all of you who are behind the scenes. Your work is just as important as any, and this siesta will be praying for you all.
To Myrna and family,
Thank you for the contributions your husband and you and your family made in this life~especially in doing the work of the Father. If you could only see the faces of us all and know the hearts that have been touched in so many ways-even beyond siestaville.
I pray that the Lord will wrap you in His arms with love and comfort and grace while you grieve. My heart aches for you and those who loved Mr. Sizemore but Glory, what an Easter he must have had!
May Chirst cover you with his love!
Mindy
Myrna,
May the Lord bring strength each morning, walking with you throughout the day, enabling your soul to heal, your spirit to breath in His sweet voice of love.
in the shadow of His presence,
grace & peace
May all of you experience the comfort of God’s Spirit through this mourning. What a tremendous legacy Mr. Sizemore has left on this earth.
So many of us are thankful for his wonderful commitment to serving God and others.
My heart goes out to each and every one of you!
Myrna,
I will be in prayer for you and your family. I know that God has sent his angels to surround you and comfort you in your loss. I thank God for using your talented husband to make it possible for Beth to share God’s Word with all of us in that unique and special way. God bless you.
Janis
I remember meeting Lee in Israel in 2000. Still to this day I thank God upon remembrance of Him. I was part of the small group scenes in Jesus the One and Only and oh what a blessing of encouragement he was! Such a humble and gifted man who used his talents for the Lord’s glory.
I will be praying for his friends and family in the coming days. May you feel God’s comfort and an extra measure of His peace. Thank you for sharing Lee with so many people…
Myrna,
Thank you for sharing your husband with us…He was a behind the scenes blessing to us all. We are praying for you and pray that God will be your comfort and your source of strength.
Dana
Myrna,
My heart goes out to you in your loss. I was blessed to be at the filming of the Patriarchs in Baltimore. I remember your husband and this group picture. My the Risen Christ minister to you and your family during this difficult time.
Myrna,
I am grieved to hear of your loss of the companion that you shared 40 years of life and ministry on earth with. my prayer is that we too can rejoice with you over the legacy your husband left behind with these amazing productions of Bible Study that have changed and revolutionized lives the world over. He will be missed and cherished. Yet i too rejoice that he is face to face with our Savior. I pray for God’s comfort, just as He looked upon His Son on the cross, He took looked with grief. I pray that He gives you, your family and friends, His strength and Peace during this time. In Him.
Holly
To The Bride of His Youth, the Bows in His Quiver, and friends who are both filled with sorrow and rejoicing at the Promise of the Resurrection:
I am praying that you can feel God’s peace as you walk along this part of your journey. Like a warm blanket on this cool spring morning, wrap yourself up in memories of your husband, father, and brother in Christ. Cry, laugh, and be angry, knowing that the Creator who put spots on the backs of lady bugs and blow holes on the tops of whales also gave you all those emotions, and more.
Know that there is an entire online city on their knees in prayer for you at this time.
Peace,
Kim Feth in Apex, NC
Myrna,
“Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints.” Psalm 116:15. Your husband’s contribution has blessed thousands. I am one. I’m praying for you all. Love, Dee
Heavenly Father, I thank you that you hold this precious Myrna. I pray that she would feel you in a tangible way as she grieves the loss of her husband. Help her to grieve with hope rising in her, that she will be reunited with her husband one day. God, you know grief. You know pain. You know sorrow. Yes, there is a relief that comes when a loved one who has been suffering, gets to reach their final home in You, but it leaves such a void here. Please be huge in that void for Myrna. Give her the strength she needs to get through the next few days as they celebrate a life of your servant Lee, and surround her with people who love her and who will stand along side of her in her pain.
God You are amazing and awesome. You are worthy still.
In Jesus name I pray, amen.